Tag: POWER

Given that Florida has accurately been coined The Sunshine State, it's not at all shocking to hear that America's first "solar city" will be built in the state's southwest corner. Or, at least that's the plan. According to a new report, West Palm Beach-based Kitson & Partners is currently developing a new city near Charlotte County, which will get juiced by a massive 75-megawatt solar ...

With layoffs continuing and unemployment rates hitting record highs, companies have been radically cutting costs since last fall. A new report reveals an unexpected way to cut costs that doesn't involve any firings: Turn off company computers at night. Conducted by 1E (an energy-management software company) and the Alliance to Save Energy, the 2009 PC Energy report estimates that U.S., U.K., ...

The effects of a bad economy are often described in abstract terms by national and local media. With that in mind, we've come across a story in USA Today that paints a more concrete picture of what a severely weakened economy looks like, and the lengths to which some people are going to go to cope with it. According to the story, an increasing number of desperate Americans have resorted to ...

The New York Times is reporting Google will announce a free web service tomorrow called PowerMeter that'll let users track energy consumption in their homes or business, provided there's a means to upload the data. That part of the equation's gonna be up to other companies to create compatible devices, and while no manufacturing partners have been named, we'd suspect strange bedfellow GE will ...

It is the stuff science fiction is made of. In Livermore, California, at the National Ignition Facility, scientists talk of creating a star small enough to fit in a large barn, laser beams 1,000 times more powerful than all of the United States' electrical output put together, and -- with hopeful, anxious tones -- a seemingly endless supply of energy. In the spring, researchers in Livermore ...

After this past weekend's devastating ice storms that hit much of the Northeastern U.S., hundreds of thousands of people are still out of power thanks to downed trees and overloaded transformers. Many are getting desperate to get the juice restored in their homes, and sadly at least one scammer is attempting to profit from the situation, posing as a National Grid worker and asking for cash. The ...

Still addicted to oil like the rest of the world? You might reconsider wind power rehab now that a startup called ExRo has developed turbines that it says are consistently 30-percent -- and in some situations as much as 100% -- more efficient than the standard kind. The traditionally-used mechanical transmissions have been replaced with an inexpensive electric alternative that can adapt to changes ...

In case you haven't noticed, energy sources and being "greener" are hot topics for everyone from presidential candidates to Apple. And let's not get into gas prices and the companies that are currently swimming in our monies. The simple fact is, we need cheaper and more efficient energy sources that are better for our environment -- stat. And we don't just mean for our cars and homes. Think about ...

This ain't the first time Furutech has cranked out a cable beyond the realm of feasibility, and sadly we doubt it'll be the last. What you're looking at above is undoubtedly the sexiest, most desirable power cable this world has ever seen. Unfortunately, that bad boy isn't getting shipped to you unless you funnel $1,800 out of your bank account and into Furutech's. The brand new Piezo Powerflux ...

Hey, remember that tiny power adapter you got with your new iPhone? Well guess what? It could get a little dangerous -- so Apple wants you to swap it for a newer, less dangerous one. Apparently, the adapter's metal prongs can break right off, thus creating a "risk of electrical shock" and general mellow-harshing. The company issued a recall today for any of the "Ultracompact USB Power Adapters" ...

A design student from the University of Portsmouth has built a wind turbine capable of providing light for a home in the developing world for only £20 ($37). The generator is built primarily out of scraps and could be easily assembled in a day. The generator design uses easily-found materials like an old bike frame and wheel bearings, the magneto from a Vespa scooter, a car battery, and ...

Unlike Rock Port, Missouri, the entire state of Delaware won't be 100-percent wind-powered after Bluewater Wind constructs a $1.6 billion wind park just off its shore, but the state will be able to "light about 50,000 homes a year" for the duration of the 25-year contract. Said agreement was just nailed down between the aforesaid firm and Delmarva Power, and it hopes to start powering homes via ...

Generating usable amounts of power without burning fossil fuels or collecting piles of nuclear sludge has become the holy grail of the environmental movement and much of the scientific community. Solar has proven too expensive and inefficient so far, while wind power is criticized as unsightly and occasionally dangerous to wildlife. Scientists have been searching for a way to harness the power ...

Looking for a really alternative way to power your gadgets? Here's a an innovative and totally renewable option out of China that lets your legs do the charging. Called "ENERGIZED by YOU," the roughly $140 gadget is a simple pedal-powered generator tied to a small, removable battery. Pedal away and you'll charge the battery up. Then, you can remove the gadget from the pedal base, plug in your ...

While it may seem as though we live in a wireless age, with gadgets of all shapes and sizes filling our pockets, in actuality we're just visiting. At the end of the day we run home and plug everything in, recharging drained batteries for the next day of exploring out in the juice-less wilderness. That's about to change, as wireless power technologies are approaching prime time. One company on ...